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The American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee is offering up to five $500 competitive grants to county or state Farm Bureaus to assist in “Our Food Link” projects. The deadline for applications is May 15. OFL is a year-round program that county and state Farm Bureaus can use to innovatively reach consumers of all ages and backgrounds with information on food production.

“Farmers and ranchers have almost unlimited opportunities to engage with consumers,” said Sherry Saylor, chair of the AFBWLC and a row crop farmer from Arizona. “Our Food Link offers a wide variety of innovative, flexible options for connecting with consumers to share how modern farmers and ranchers produce food.”

Grant applications can be downloaded at http://www.fb.org/programs/ourfoodlink/ and must be submitted on the fillable PDF form to Maggie Dean Good maggieg@fb.org by May 15. Review by state Farm Bureau staff is required for all applications submitted. Applications will be reviewed, scored and ranked by judges on measurable criteria relating to the project objectives, plan and innovation. OFL grant recipients will be announced in mid-June.

Organized into three categories, this year’s OFL toolkit features projects perfect for showcasing activities geared toward Farm-to-Fork, Farm-to-School and Farm-to-Community. Suggested activities range from consumer outreach at supermarkets or farmers’ markets to hosting interactive booths at community events, speaking about food and food production to visiting students in classrooms and making a connection to agriculture.

Our Food Link projects and participation are open to all Farm Bureau members.